


Full House

by TheGreatCatsby



Series: Wild Cards [7]
Category: All New X-Factor, Avengers (Comics), Marvel (Comics), X-Factor (Comics)
Genre: Canon Divergence, Canon Typical Violence, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-30
Updated: 2015-02-21
Packaged: 2018-02-23 07:08:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,585
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2538827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheGreatCatsby/pseuds/TheGreatCatsby
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“But if it makes you feel better, Pietro wouldn't waste time with you if he didn't actually feel like you were worth wasting time on.” </p><p>Pietro and Remy come into their own, and so does the team.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This one'll be multi-chapter. Spoilers for the comics.

It occurred to Remy that Pietro was different. He'd known that, of course, but hadn't really taken it in. Mostly because they were all different. The four humans on the team were mutants, and the other two were robots. Remy had been surrounded by different people his whole life. 

He'd never really gotten to know anyone. He only knew how his mutation affected himself, really, and a handful of other people. 

He noticed it when Pietro took all of thirty seconds to read the paper. When he looked up from his computer one time after Remy asked what he was doing and said he was spending the day learning Finnish and that he was “almost fluent.” When he flipped through a book like someone would while skimming, but he was actually genuinely reading it and engrossed in every word. Remy tried throwing Lucifer (the cat, not the devil) at him while he was reading on the bed and instead of being surprised he caught the damn cat. 

“Pietro,” he asked, after said cat had run under the bed, “how do you see the world?” 

“Quickly,” was Pietro's answer. He was back at one of his books. He'd taken to reading more since he got to Serval. 

“Oh.” That wasn't exactly the detailed answer he'd been hoping for.

“It's why I'm what Lorna calls an ass,” Pietro added, helpfully. 

“Because you--” Remy stopped himself. Because Pietro saw the world quickly. He wasn't dismissing the question. It was actually the reason. Seeing the world quickly meant that everyone else saw it slowly. 

“Why are you staring?” Pietro asked. 

“How do you feel about cooking?” Remy asked. Because now he was curious. How far did this speed thing go?

“Tedious,” Pietro said. “I've yet to find a way to accelerate cooking.” 

**

Remy became more aware of time, because he thought it might be useful. Pietro generally came across as impatient and long-suffering. When he made coffee, it took ten minutes. Ten seemed like a high number. He cooked eggs. That took about seven, but the whole time he couldn't stop thinking about how hungry he was. 

He ate for twelve minutes. He took two minutes to walk back to his room. His computer took a minute to turn on. He found out that his typing speed was 68 words per minute. And it didn't all seem that long, but when he actually sat and counted out a minute in his head, it took up a surprising amount of time. A minute could be very long. 

He shut his computer and went back into the kitchen, hoping to find Pietro. Instead he found Lorna making coffee. 

“Morning,” she said. 

“I've had an epiphany,” Remy said. “Pietro's an ass because everyone else is slow.” 

“That's not an epiphany,” Lorna said. “That's called an unfortunate side-effect of mutation.” 

“Oh.” 

“We all have those,” Lorna added. “But if it makes you feel better, Pietro wouldn't waste time with you if he didn't actually feel like you were worth wasting time on.” 

“It isn't exactly a waste then, is it,” Remy said. 

Lorna smiled at him. “Exactly.” 

*

Pietro came into his room an hour later, dressed in his hoodie. “I've agreed to take Luna and Georgia to the museums in DC. Would you be interested?” 

Remy wasn't exactly a museum person, but he recognized the offer for what it was: Pietro making more of an effort to include him in personal things. “Sure,” he said. “Why not? I could always stand ta learn a few things.” 

“Five minutes,” Pietro said, and he was gone. 

Five minutes might've been a long time to Pietro, but on short notice is was pretty damn fast for Remy. He was still trying to comb his hair as he walked to the company car. Pietro merely raised an eyebrow at him, like he couldn't understand the concept of not having enough time to get ready, and then they were off. 

Georgia and Luna had both chosen the Air and Space museum first. When Remy heard the word “first” he leaned towards Pietro and whispered, “How many museums are we seeing today?” 

“As many as they want,” Pietro said, his lips twitching upwards. 

“I’m not sure if I hate you or not,” Remy said. 

They arrived at the first museum. Remy had actually been here before, and he still liked it. There were model planes and space ships and satellites and cool facts about science and space everywhere. Luna in particular was glued to each and every exhibit. 

“I suppose it’s all a bit different if you grew up on the moon,” Remy said. 

“I can’t imagine,” Georgia said. “D’you think we can visit the moon with her one day?” 

“Um,” Remy said. He had a feeling that Pietro’s previous relations to the Inhumans would prevent that sort of thing. 

Luna had become entranced with an explanation of how airplanes fly. Georgia went off to look at one of the interactive exhibits, and Remy looked over at Pietro, who was watching Luna with a small smile on his face. 

He just watched Pietro watching Luna, not wanting to interrupt the moment. He knew how important Luna was to Pietro, and how much he regretted not being around for a good chunk of her childhood. When Luna turned around from the exhibit and smiled at Pietro and started talking about how cool human technology was and how different it was from what they had on the moon, Pietro grinned back, and he looked happier than Remy had ever seen him. 

“Pietro seems like a good dad,” Georgia sighed. Remy turned to find her standing next to him, also watching as Pietro and Luna started walking away, Luna still chattering about what she’d learned. 

“Yeah,” Remy said. He was at a loss for words, not because he didn’t know what to say about Pietro, but because he didn’t know what to say to Georgia. Georgia had lost everyone, and her father had not really been the best father in the world. She’d loved him, but Remy suspected that now that she wasn’t as sheltered, she was seeing what other families were like. She probably wanted a family of her own. 

“Can we go to the gift shop?” Georgia asked. 

“Yeah, sure,” Remy said, relieved to not have to discuss family any further. 

At some point, the team would figure out how to handle Georgia. Today wasn’t that day. 

*

“I didn’t know that Inhumans didn’t have planes,” Remy said as he set down a line of shot glasses in front of Pietro. There were seven. He took two. Pietro raised an eyebrow at him. “What? You need more than I do ta get drunk, and it won’t even last.” 

“I wasn’t aware getting drunk was the plan,” Pietro said. He looked tired, after the long day. 

“The plan,” Remy said, having noted Pietro’s appearance, “is ta relax. We’ve spent the day shuffling around museums and being good parents—“

“I’m the only parent in this situation,” Pietro pointed out. 

“Hey, I was babysitting too,” Remy said. “Or did you forget that there were two kids on this trip?” 

Pietro actually looked apologetic. “I got caught up in Luna’s enthusiasm.” 

“I know,” Remy said with a grin. “I’ve never seen you so happy about anything.” 

“I have the chance to be a father to her,” Pietro said. “I’m not going to waste it. I’ve already hurt her enough for a lifetime.” 

“You’re too hard on yourself,” Remy said. “Lot’s of terrible parents never want ta make up for it.” 

“I almost lost her for good,” Pietro said. “Through my actions, and mine alone.” 

Remy considered his shot glasses. “At least you’re not Georgia’s dad.” 

“How is she?” Pietro asked. 

“Fine,” Remy said, “but you said that one time Luna could influence her moods so I dunno how true that is.” 

“Only with concentration,” Pietro reminded him. 

“I think she misses having a family,” Remy said. “She probably feels adrift. Luna might be like a surrogate little sister and we might all be like surrogate parents but that’s not gonna take away the fact that she just lost all her family.” 

Pietro nodded, reaching out to grasp a shot glass. “Thank you for coming.” 

“No problem.” Remy grinned. “So, let’s quit talking about the sad stuff and get you relaxed.” 

“Drunk,” Pietro corrected. “This will probably be more fun for you than it will be for me.” 

“Everyone has a fun time with tequila,” Remy said. Pietro glanced down in alarm at his five shot glasses, each filled with the golden liquid. 

“Are you serious?” 

“I’m completely serious,” Remy said. “Only the good stuff ta celebrate a good day. And other things.” He winked and Pietro rolled his eyes. “Drink up. All of them, so we’re on the same page.” 

Pietro took his first shot and grimaced. “How do people enjoy this?” Still, he continued working his way through the remaining four. 

“Ah, there’s usually a lime and salt,” Remy said after taking his first shot, “and that makes it taste good, but the bartender didn’t have that stuff.”

“Well, thanks,” Pietro said sarcastically, slamming down the fifth glass. Remy took his second shot and pushed the empty glass towards the middle of the table, where it tipped over. 

“How’re you feeling?” he asked. 

“Fan-fucking-tastic,” Pietro said. Then he grinned wide, and started laughing. “Your face, Remy. You look so shocked. What’s wrong?” 

“That was quick,” Remy said. 

“I’m nothing but quick,” Pietro slurred, still grinning. “Oh, wow. That was good. That tequila. Very good.”

“You didn’t seem ta like it,” Remy pointed out. He was developing a pleasant buzz. 

Pietro was practically folded in half over the table. “Forget what I said. It’s like magic. I want to kiss you. Can I kiss you? I enjoyed today, I’m glad you came. CanIkissyouplease?”

“You can—“ Before Remy finished his sentence Pietro was in the seat next to him, pulling Remy towards him and smashing their mouths together. It wasn’t the most comfortable thing in the world, and Pietro was pulling Remy’s hair, possibly to keep himself from tipping over. It lasted for a minute before Remy had to pull back and gasp for breath. “Wow.”

“I don’t understand,” Pietro said, carefully, “how you put up with me.” 

“What?” The buzzing got buzzier. “What’re you talking about?” 

Pietro took a deep breath. “Damn it all!” He slapped the table, hard, and Remy jumped. “I don’t know why you put up with me. I’ve done terrible things. Made so many mistakes. I don’t even know how Luna can look at me, I’materriblefather.” He leaned over and buried his face in his hands. 

“Um,” Remy said, patting Pietro hesitantly on the back. “None of that is true.” 

“WandaandIstillaren’tthesameanditsallmyfault,” Pietro gasped, and Remy was horrified to see tears starting to track down his cheeks. “IdeserveallthehateIgetandhonestlyIdon’tunderstandwhymorepeoplehaven’tbeatmeup. Howcanyouevenlookatme?” The speed and the slurring of words combined made him near impossible to understand. 

“What?” was all Remy could say. 

“IusedtohatemyselfandWandasaidIshouldn’tbutIstilldoandIpretendIdon’tbutsometimesitshardwhen,” he gasped, “the reasons are staring you in the face.” 

“I missed the first part of that,” Remy said. 

Pietro sat up, blinking away tears and glaring at him accusingly. “What did you give me?” 

“Holy shit,” Remy said, half in horror at what he’d done. He suddenly felt less drunk. “I didn’t know this would happen. I mean, you’ve never been this drunk around the team before, but now I know why?” 

“What are you talking about?” Pietro demanded. “You’re making no sense, Remy.” 

“We should go home,” Remy said, nudging Pietro with his elbow. “Out.” 

Pietro stood up and swayed dangerously. Remy grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the door. “Where are you taking me?” he snapped. “I don’t like being pulled around.” He pulled away and stepped back, nearly falling over. 

Remy scoffed. “Rich words for someone who likes dragging everyone else all over the place. If I’m correct,” he added, “the drunken phase usually ends in misery. I’m taking you out of the bar before that happens, so you can pass out at home.” 

“Please,” Pietro said. “I’m not going to pass—“ He cut himself off, swallowing. 

“You were saying,” Remy said. 

Pietro shook his head, his face suddenly pale. 

“This must be a record of some kind,” Remy said. “It’s been five minutes, probably less than. You okay?” 

“No,” Pietro choked, and he darted into a nearby alleyway. 

Remy followed him. He heard, before he saw, Pietro being sick. He was leaning against the wall of a building, gagging, the contents of his stomach decorating the pavement. Remy put an arm around his waist to steady him. 

Pietro retched and retched until there was nothing to bring up, and then he continued to dry heave. By now he’d fallen to his knees, and Remy was stroking his hair and trying to be comforting, while at the same time trying not to feel horrible about doing this. Pietro had probably said a lot of things he wouldn’t have said sober, and Remy was still trying to pick them apart even as he felt guilty for hearing them in the first place. 

Pietro leaning back against him broke into his thoughts. He was breathing hard, and Remy helped him stand. “Let’s get you home,” he said, and Pietro didn’t say anything, just leaned against him. Their journey back was unusually slow. 

“Next time we’ll only get you a little drunk,” Remy said as he helped Pietro into bed. “And probably not on tequila. That stuff’s more brutal than most things. Though I didn’t know it’d hit you that hard.” 

“I hate you,” Pietro muttered, before closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep. 

It’d been half an hour since he’d taken the first drink. 

As he lay in his own bed, Remy thought back to what Pietro had said. The words played over and over in his mind, slurred sentences spoken at super-speed, Pietro’s emotions getting ahead of him. He hadn’t understood every single thing, but he had a horrible feeling that he understood the gist of it and didn’t like it. 

Pietro wasn’t okay. Not completely. And it was more than his previous uncertainty over being in a relationship. It went deeper than that. 

And Remy cursed himself for caring. Now he was in it, too. Attached to Pietro. He cared about how the other man felt, and he wanted him to be fine. Better than fine. Happy. He felt responsible. 

But he didn’t have the slightest clue what to do about it. 

At least, he mused, Pietro probably wouldn’t be hungover tomorrow.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning dawned cold and clear, and with alarms blaring. Remy definitely wasn’t hungover, but being jerked from a peaceful sleep by incessant loud noise wasn’t the best way to wake up. 

He scrambled out of bed, into his uniform, and then ran for the jet hangar, where he saw Lorna, Doug, and Warlock standing outside of the plane. 

“What the hell was that?” he asked. 

“There’s been an attack on a medical research center a few miles away,” Lorna said. “I sent Pietro and Danger ahead to scout out the area. We’re taking the car.” 

“Medical research center?” Remy repeated. “What’s so special about that?” 

“A client for Serval,” Lorna said with a shrug. “Let’s go.” 

Fifteen minutes later they were pulling up to an ordinary beige building that looked like one of those boring places no one paid attention to when they drove past them. 

Except it was on fire. 

Danger met them at the entrance. “Quicksilver has evacuated the building,” she said. “I don’t know if all of the data collected by the scientists can be saved, but I do have some backups. I feel that it is important for you to know that this is a mutant testing facility.” 

“What!” Remy couldn’t help himself. He was angry. 

“They do extensive tests on the mutant gene,” Danger clarified. “How to enhance it, how to suppress it.”

Remy spun around to face Lorna. “And we should help these people keep their data?” 

“It’s our job,” Lorna shot back. “Besides, some of that information could be helpful to some of us.” 

“Or ta humans,” Remy pointed out. 

“We’re wasting time,” Lorna said. “Danger, Warlock, put out the fire if you can. Doug, you and Remy are with me. We’re gonna see if the people who did this are still around.” 

“I’d like ta give them a medal,” Remy muttered. Lorna elbowed him, hard, in the stomach. 

“I’m sure it’s fine,” Doug said, but he looked uncertain. 

“When you think something’s fine, it never is,” Remy muttered, and the two of them followed Lorna into the burning building. 

*

It was quiet, and there was smoke everywhere. 

“I’d follow you ta a lot of places, Lorna,” Remy managed between coughs, “but I’m not sure this is one of them.” 

“The other’ll put out the fire,” Lorna said. Her voice sounded raspy. “We’re here to investigate a crime. Quietly, in case they’re still here. So shut up.” 

“I’m sure they know we’re here,” Doug said. “Danger isn’t exactly subtle.” 

“When I said shut up I meant—“ Lorna paused, and Remy caught up to her to see what had made her stop talking. 

They had walked into a large room, a lab, which still had small fires burning in random places. But that wasn’t the shocking part. The shocking part was that everything in the room was trashed. Smashed, ripped up, tossed around. 

“Fire doesn’t do that,” Doug said. 

“Damn right,” Lorna said, striding into the room. “So the question is, who did?” 

Doug made his way to one of the computer terminals and pressed a button. It powered up. “Well, I can see what they were working on and we can figure out who’d be angry because of it.” 

“Good idea,” Lorna said, picking through debris. “It doesn’t look like there was any live testing going on. Lots of microscopes, vials.” 

“I hope they weren’t working with diseases,” Remy said. 

“That’s ridiculous,” Lorna said, though she was particularly careful in side-stepping a puddle of unidentifiable liquid surrounded by shattered glass. 

“Is it?” Remy asked, frowning at the many vials. “I mean, it seems like they have a lot of safety equipment around for—oh.” He’d come up against a door marked “Biohazard Zone: Level 3.” And it was partially open. 

Lorna glanced over and realized why he was panicked. “Oh shit.” 

“You were saying?” Remy backed away from the door, careful not to step in any of the puddles. 

“You know some diseases are airborne, right?” said a voice to Remy’s left. He spun around to find Pietro leaning against one of the tables. 

He looked, well, hungover. Which was impossible. But he was pale, there were dark circles under his eyes. And his smirk was weak. 

“You look like shit,” Remy told him. 

“I feel like it,” Pietro countered. To Lorna, he said, “None of the people I rescued were higher ups. All of them had been brought on board for the various projects this lab was running after they were started. So either they’re in here or they escaped.” 

“Great,” Lorna muttered. “That means we probably have to go into the biohazard door.” 

“I’m perfectly fine with leaving them there,” Remy said. 

“We have a mission,” Lorna said, “or did you forget? Snow will want to know why the lab was attacked, and these people will probably know more than anyone else. Where’s Doug?” 

“Hacking into the computers with the robots,” Pietro said. He coughed, slightly, and winced. “I doubt he’s found anything yet.” 

“Okay. Then let’s make this quick.” Lorna headed towards the door. Remy made a noise of protest. 

“Shouldn’t we be protecting ourselves with something?” he asked. 

“The door’s already open,” Lorna pointed out. “If anything’s in there, we’re screwed already.” She turned around and opened the door wider before stepping inside. 

Pietro went to go after her, but Remy grabbed his arm. 

“You’re sick,” he said. Pietro nodded. “Crap. That must’ve been why the alcohol affected you so badly. You were coming down with something.” 

“Probably,” Pietro said. “It doesn’t matter.” 

“You’re not going in there,” Remy said. “Not if you’re sick. Why didn’t you tell someone?” 

“Take your hand off my arm,” Pietro said. Remy did so, but only because he figured Pietro would listen to him if he was nice. 

No such luck. Pietro darted after Lorna and Remy cursed before running after him. 

Behind the door of Biohazard Level 3 were a series of airlocks and holding rooms, all open. Biohazard suits were scattered around. They passed through a shower area and nearly got sprayed by a jet of bleach. 

“Some of the systems are still working,” Lorna said. 

Then they stepped into a lab. 

There were vials everywhere, microscopes, and transparent chambers with several openings. Some of them seemed to be to attached to things like probes, and a few others seemed to be made for human hands. One of the chambers looked big enough to house a person, but it was empty. They were all empty. 

“Animal testing,” Lorna said from where she was at the foot of another door, this one closed. “I don’t really want to make a bunch of monkeys angry.” 

“There’s no scientists here,” Remy said. 

“I couldn’t tell,” Pietro said. Remy glared at him. “There’s several other rooms. What were they doing here?” 

“Doug is getting that data to us,” Lorna said. “We need to figure out where the scientists might’ve gone.” 

Pietro walked over to one of the doors and was squinting at the room label when it burst open and a man in a lab coat lunged at Pietro, knocking them both to the ground. 

Lorna and Remy rushed over, Remy charging a card. Pietro had pinned the other man to the ground. He grabbed something and tossed it aside. It rolled to a stop at Remy’s feet and he picked it up carefully. 

It was a syringe, half-full of clear liquid. He set it on one of the counters and wiped his hand on his coat. 

“Mutants,” the scientist hissed, “you’ve ruined everything!” 

“We’re here to rescue you,” Lorna said. “What happened?” 

“Screw you,” the scientist spat. 

“Now that’s not very—hey!” Remy jumped as Pietro slammed the man’s head into the floor, rendering him unconscious. 

“We’ll have more success if we interrogate him at Serval,” he said, standing up. 

“We need ta talk about your patience skills,” Remy said. He bent over and picked up the scientist, tossing him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. 

“I have patience skills,” Pietro said. “I deal with all of you on a regular basis.” Then he was off. 

“Ass,” Lorna said. She and Remy began the journey back out of the lab. 

*

“Pietro-“

Pietro leaned against the wall, apparently too exhausted to even run to his room. 

“Pietro—“

“Remy, you’re giving me a headache,” Pietro muttered. 

“You shouldn’t’ve come on the mission today,” Remy said. He walked around so he could see Pietro’s face. Pietro’s eyes were closed, his head pressed against the wall. “You okay?” 

“Fine.” Pietro attempted to push off the wall and get past Remy, but he swayed dangerously and Remy had to catch him. “What are you—“

“Shh,” Remy muttered, pressing a hand against Pietro’s forehead. He felt abnormally hot. “Let it happen.” 

“Let what happen?” 

“This.” Remy swept Pietro’s legs out from under him and couldn’t help the grin that came over his face when Pietro made a high-pitched yelping sound. He tried to wiggle, but Remy held fast and carried him down the hallway. 

“You—“ Pietro started. 

“Just returning the favor,” Remy said. He had a little difficulty getting them into Pietro’s room, but once they were inside he dropped Pietro onto the bed. Pietro glared up at him, but the effect was muted given how awful he looked. “You need ta rest.” 

“We have a debrief,” Pietro pointed out. 

“And I’m sure Lorna’ll understand,” Remy said. A soft knock at the door caught his attention and he turned around. 

Luna stood in the doorway, looking concerned. “Is dad okay?” 

“I’m fine,” Pietro said. 

“He’s sick,” Remy told her. “He needs ta rest.” 

“Oh.” Luna looked worried. “I can make soup. Will that make you feel better? Georgia told me soup makes people feel better.” 

“Soup would be great,” Remy said. Luna nodded and left. Remy sat down on the edge of the bed and watched Pietro struggle with the covers. “She’s a good kid.” 

“Of course she is,” Pietro said. He pulled the covers over himself. Remy noticed that he was shivering. “I’ll be fine. I don’t know why you’re so worried. I never stay sick for long.” 

“You’re sick now,” Remy said. “And I worry about you, okay?”

“Why,” Pietro muttered. 

Remy frowned. “Because I care.” 

Pietro made a noise that sounded like a scoff. 

“What’s that?” Remy asked. 

“I just need to sleep,” Pietro said. 

Remy nodded, deciding to let it drop. He began to rub Pietro’s back in small circles. 

“What are you doing?” Pietro asked, opening his eyes to squint up at Remy. 

“Caring for you,” Remy said, “like I did last night, if you remember correctly. Like people who are in a relationship do.” 

“Right,” Pietro said. He closed his eyes again. He was asleep within a few minutes. 

Remy stayed. He didn’t see a reason to leave. After some time Pietro began to get restless, shivering violently and tossing around. He felt even hotter, but Remy didn’t know what to do. So he tried to calm him by rubbing his back again, which seemed to do the trick. 

Luna came back soon after. “We have a lot of soup,” she said. “I didn’t know which one—is he asleep?” 

“Yeah,” Remy said. “If you want I’ll let you know when he wakes up.” 

“Thanks,” Luna said. “Do you think he’d like chicken soup?” 

“I think he’d love it.” 

Luna disappeared again and Remy looked down at Pietro, who was still shivering. 

He slept for the rest of the afternoon, alternating between being calm and bouts of feverish restlessness. But when he woke up, groggy and dazed, his temperature had gone back down, and he seemed pleased with the soup Luna made for him. 

The fever had gone, and Remy felt more relieved than he thought he would. He’d been more worried than he’d been about anyone in a long time. 

He was deep into this relationship. And it didn’t bother him as much as that sort of thing used to.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoilers for all the Axis event stuff. Kind of. I'm ignoring one thing.

“Thanks,” Pietro said. It was the morning after. They were still in bed. “For taking care of me. That was kind.” 

“Of course,” Remy said. 

Pietro scrutinized him. “You’re serious about this.” 

“Of course.” 

Pietro nodded. Like he hadn’t been sure before. 

And it occurred to Remy that he probably hadn’t been. 

*

The next day started with Washington DC on fire. Things hadn’t gotten much better since. 

The whole scientist mystery had been put on the back burner. Snow hadn’t gotten far in his interrogation, and Doug was still going through the data that Danger and Warlock had helped him bring back from the labs. Apparently, there was a lot to sift through, and a lot of protective coding to break in the process. 

And then the whole world seemed to go off-kilter because of the Red Skull’s telepathic attack on pretty much everyone. 

Remy was still apologizing for the things he’d said to Lorna under telepathic influence. He’d never felt so much hatred in his life. Not even back when he actually didn’t trust his team. 

“I wouldn’t worry about it,” she said. “We have bigger problems right now. Also, it’s not your fault.” 

When they reached the base, Pietro was already there. He’d gotten the nuclear codes, and was waiting for them. Remy tried to catch his eye, but Pietro looked away. 

And Remy realized that he must’ve heard everything he’d said to Lorna while he was attacking her. About them being the spawn of Magneto. About wanting to kill them. 

He wanted to pull Pietro aside and say something, but then there was an explosion, and Danger was telling them that the nuclear football had been traced back to Serval. Sentinels, Sunfire, and Longshot showed up. 

And at the same time, Pietro disappeared. 

Or rather, Georgia came over the comms and said, “Luna’s freaking out because her dad just flew away.” 

“What?” Lorna said. “He can’t fly!” 

“That’s why she’s freaking out,” Georgia said. “We didn’t see him land, he just sorta flew into the sky and disappeared.” 

“Shit,” Remy said. Then—“Sorry, Georgia. I meant, ah, you know what I meant. And no one knows where he is?” 

“Warlock would track him,” Lorna said, “but Warlock and Danger are a bit distracted repairing themselves.” 

“So what do we do?” Remy asked. 

Doug said, “I have a plan.” 

“For Pietro?” 

“No,” Doug said. “To get rid of Sunfire and Longshot.” 

“Oh yeah.” Sunfire and Longshot both seemed intent on regrouping and attacking again. 

“Leave it to me,” Doug said. 

Five minutes later Doug had successfully used Serval’s tech to transport Longshot and Sunfire across the world, making them someone else’s problem and giving them time to focus on the two issues remaining to them: Pietro’s disappearance and the Sentinel that had survived the fight. 

“I can get into Lock’s systems and track Quickie that way,” Doug told them. “No idea what to do about the Sentinel.” 

“I’ll take care of that,” Danger’s voice crackled over the comms. Lorna and Remy turned around to see Danger rising from a pile of smoke. Warlock was still on the ground, parts moving around as he repaired himself. 

They watched in awe as Danger launched herself at—and then through—the Sentinel. There were a few explosions, and then the Sentinel toppled over. Danger put her hand through its head and tore out the human piloting the thing. 

“Danger,” Lorna warned. 

“I know, I shall not hurt the human,” Danger said, settling the confused man on the ground. The man hesitated for a moment, unsure what to do, and then started running away. “Should I follow him?” 

“No,” Lorna said. “It’s fine. He’s not much of a threat without his machine.” 

“And besides,” Remy chimed in, “we gotta find Pietro. Doug?” 

Lorna smirked at him and he pointedly ignored her as he waited for an answer. 

“He seems to be in New York,” Doug said after a moment. 

“I know where we’re going,” Remy said, but Lorna held a hand up. 

“Nowhere, because if you haven’t noticed, we still have the nuclear football, and our mission is to protect Serval, not go off to New York.” 

“Look, he’s our teammate and he needs help—“

“If he isn’t back within a few hours,” Lorna said, “then we’ll go help. Until then, we stay here, clear things up, and assume that he’s fine and can handle himself.” 

Remy tried to quell the worry that seemed like it wanted to claw its way out of his chest. “Fine,” he said. “But I’m not telling Luna why we’re not going ta rescue her dad.”

“He’s fine,” Lorna said. “He’ll be fine.” 

*

A few hours later Pietro re-appeared at the base like he’d never disappeared. The only difference was that he looked pale. Slightly ill. And there were tears in his uniform. 

“I was so worried,” Luna cried, throwing her arms around Pietro in a crushing hug. Remy saw him suppress a wince. “I knew you couldn’t fly and I thought you’d—“ 

“It’s okay,” Pietro said. 

“Where did you go?” Luna asked, moving back so she could see his face. 

Pietro grimaced. “I had to talk to your other aunt.” 

“The same way we had to talk with Longshot and the others?” Lorna asked with a smirk. 

“Similar,” Pietro said, “but not quite.” 

“I’ll bet Wanda did more talking,” Lorna said. 

Pietro looked away and down at Luna, who had buried her head in his chest. “Don’t do that again,” she said. 

“I won’t,” Pietro said. Luna let go and he straightened up. “I’m happy to see that my absence didn’t prevent you from keeping the football safe.” 

“It’s down to Doug, really,” Lorna said. Doug, who was standing behind her, shrugged. 

“It wasn’t a big deal,” he said. “Just a bit of playing around with Serval’s software.” 

“And Georgia helped,” Luna added. “She almost got Longshot to stop.” 

Georgia, from her place near the window, grinned at Luna. “My first mission.” 

Pietro nodded at her. “Congratulations,” he said. 

“Ya did good,” Remy added. Georgia looked surprisingly grown up, and Remy had no doubt it was because of the connotations of being in a uniform, doing the sort of things super-powered teams did. It tended to make teenagers grow up faster than they were meant to. 

It wasn’t entirely a good thing. 

“Anyway,” Lorna said, “it seems we have a lull in this fight. So I was thinking about dinner. What do you all think?” 

“I think that sounds good,” Doug said. 

They filed out of the room and into the hallway, Pietro the last to leave. As he went through the door, Remy grabbed him by the arm. 

“We need ta talk,” he said. 

“Not now,” Pietro said, trying to move around him. 

“I need ta apologize,” Remy told him. 

Pietro stilled. “For what?” 

“For what I said,” Remy said. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it.” 

“You were thinking it,” Pietro said. Remy opened his mouth but Pietro continued, “the Red Skull manipulates emotions, which in turn manipulates actions. But what we direct our hatred towards, and the words we say, are our own. I don’t blame you.” 

“I really don’t want your family gone,” Remy said. “I’ve been angry, yeah, but we’ve all done shitty things.” 

“Perhaps there was some unresolved anger,” Pietro said. 

“No,” Remy said. “Past thoughts, maybe. I don’t know why I said that. Probably because Lorna was taking all my focus and the only hateful thing I could think about her had ta do with all the things I said.” 

Pietro considered him. “I need to know that those feelings are not ones you’re hiding for the sake of our relationship.” He was calm, but Remy sensed how wound up he was. How afraid, maybe, that Remy really did feel those things and would reject him for it. 

“They aren’t,” Remy said. “They’re in the past, where they should be.” 

Pietro nodded and sank into the nearest chair. “I feel like we can never escape our pasts.” 

Remy frowned. “Something happen with Wanda?” 

“It’s fine,” Pietro said automatically. “It just seems like I can never get past what happened.” 

Remy leaned over and placed a kiss on Pietro’s lips. “Of course you can,” he murmured. “Otherwise no one’d ever let you anywhere near ‘em.” 

“Thanks,” Pietro muttered, pushing Remy away and standing up. 

“You know I’m right,” Remy said. “You wouldn’t be on this team and Lorna wouldn’t be in charge. It might take awhile but you’re all trying ta be the best you can, and not everyone can do that. Lots of people wouldn’t even try after what you’ve all been through.” 

Pietro didn’t respond. He frowned, turning over Remy’s words in his head. Remy sighed and grabbed his arm, pulling him towards the door. 

“You need some food in you,” he said, “and some sense. But I’ll give you that later.” 

*

“Does he seem subdued ta you?” Remy asked Lorna. It was after dinner and she was cleaning the dishes. Pietro had left shortly after eating, and he hadn’t eaten much, saying that he was tired. 

“Who?” Lorna asked. She tossed Remy a washcloth. “Wanna help?” 

“We have a dishwasher,” Remy pointed out. 

“Yeah, but you need to rinse the dishes before you put them in,” Lorna said. “I was actually thinking you could wipe down the table.” 

“In a second,” Remy said. He leaned closer to Lorna. “You didn’t answer my question.” 

“Is who subdued?” 

“You know who,” Remy said. When Lorna continued to rinse out the dishes and ignore him, he added, “Pietro.” 

“Oh, that him,” Lorna said, smirking. “Maybe he is. Maybe there were some unresolved issues with Wanda.” 

“Wanda was under the influence of the Red Skull, I think,” Remy said, “and if she said anything like what I said ta him—“

“She knows him better,” Lorna said. 

“That supposed ta be a good thing?” Remy asked. 

“No,” Lorna said, frowning at the sink. “It means whatever she said will cut deep. Not that Pietro will admit it. Not tonight, anyway. He’s stubborn like that.” 

“So I’m not imagining things.” 

“I don’t know,” Lorna sighed, turning the water off and the dishwasher on. “I wasn’t paying attention. My brain’s pretty fried. But it’s possible.” 

“But I won’t get anything out of him tonight,” Remy said. 

“Nope. So there’s no point in asking. Your time is better spent cleaning the table.” She gestured across the kitchen. 

Remy slumped against the counter. “Do I have ta?” 

“As your team leader,” Lorna said, “yes.” 

Remy groaned and dragged himself over to the table. Cleaning would be a helpful distraction, but he had the feeling that it wouldn’t be enough to assuage his worry. 

The only thing that would fix that would be if Pietro actually talked about it. 

And Remy knew from experience that getting Pietro to admit to his issues was like getting Magneto to love a human.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this continues to be loosely following the events from the comics, but I've kind of compressed a lot of things in this chapter and they happen differently than they did in the comics. I've figured out a plot, mostly! At some point in this story the team is actually going to fall apart. And relationships will be tested and all that stuff.

“We have more important things to deal with than my familial affairs.” 

Remy scoffed. Pietro made it sound like his family affairs were unimportant, but Remy knew for a fact that family was the most important thing to Pietro. And right now, it was bothering him. 

“Like what?” 

“Like,” Pietro said, “the chaos that’s broken out the world over and what we’re planning on doing with the nuclear football. Technically, Serval’s committed treason.”

“Technically,” Lorna said as she came into the kitchen, “you committed treason.” 

“And you’re harboring me,” Pietro said, “so you are, by proxy.” 

“Or not by proxy,” Remy said. “I think we’re all in deep shit.” 

“Once everyone gets back to normal we’ll return the football,” Lorna said. “I think under the circumstances the President will be able to admit that it was for the best. Breakfast?” 

Pietro shook his head and raised a mug of coffee at her. 

“That ain’t breakfast,” Remy said. 

“It’s breakfast for me today,” Pietro said before downing the last of his coffee, placing the mug on the counter, and dashing out of the kitchen. 

“You’re right,” Lorna said. “There is something wrong with him.” 

“I told you,” Remy said. 

“I just can’t figure out,” Lorna continued, “if it’s that he’s too much of an ass or if it’s because he actually has feelings.” 

Remy glared at her.

“You used to say those things about him,” Lorna pointed out. “And you don’t even have family relation as an excuse.” 

“I don’t know whether I’m annoyed at you because you’re being an ass,” Remy said, “or because you’re right.” 

“It’s because I’m right.”

*

The saga of the nuclear football came to an end in a surprisingly mundane way, considering all the trouble the team had gone through trying to keep it out of the wrong hands. Lorna gathered the team in the kitchen and told them that the world had gone back to normal, and Snow had returned the football. 

“We’re not in trouble?” Doug asked. 

“Not that I know of,” Lorna said. “But Snow only told the President that ‘the team’ took it away for good reason. He didn’t say who, exactly.” She looked at Pietro, who shrugged. 

“If they tried to arrest me, I’d just run.” 

“I think the FBI would know how ta deal with that,” Remy said. His gaze lingered on Pietro, who was very pointedly not looking at him. 

“Right,” said Lorna. “Well, good work, team. The world hasn’t become a nuclear wasteland and we’ve all managed to not get killed so I’d say that was a crisis situation well handled.” 

“Meeting adjourned?” Remy asked. Pietro had already half-risen from his seat. 

“Y—“

“Excuse me.” 

Lorna turned around, and the rest of the team stared at the person standing in the threshold to the kitchen, in bright yellow and black and a mask and not because they worked for Serval. 

“Sunfire,” Pietro muttered, sounding almost disgusted. 

“How did you get in here?” Lorna asked. 

“Your secretary let me in,” Sunfire said. 

“Look, Shiro, there’s a reason we dropped you off on the other side of the world last time you were here,” Remy said, also standing. 

“What do you want?” Lorna asked. 

Shiro clasped his hands together. “I would like to apologize for the harm that I caused to your team.” 

“Apology NOT accepted,” Warlock said, but Lorna waved a hand at him. 

“Why are you apologizing? You weren’t in your right mind.” 

“This is true,” Shiro said. “However, I do have an ulterior motive.” 

“Oh, no,” Doug said. 

“You don’t usually tell people that,” Remy added. 

“I would like to join your team,” Shiro said. 

For a moment, no one spoke. 

Then Lorna asked, “Why?” 

“I’m at a crossroads in my life,” Shiro explained. “Your team seems to be made of people trying to prove that they are heroes and not people only pretending to be heroes.” 

“Um,” Doug said, raising a hand, “I object to that.” 

“So do I,” Georgia said. “No one here’s pretending.” 

“Most of you have questionable reputations in the superhero community,” Shiro said with a shrug. 

“You’re not selling yourself,” Remy said. 

“Fine,” Lorna said. 

Everyone whipped their heads around to stare at her this time. 

“What,” Pietro said. 

“Seconded,” Georgia said. 

“Thirded,” Doug muttered. 

“Why is self-friend counting?” Warlock whispered. 

“We can always use people with strong abilities,” Lorna said. “And besides, I believe in second chances.” 

“Thank you,” Shiro said. “I promise I will be a beneficial asset to—“

In a blur, Lorna disappeared, and Pietro’s chair was suspiciously empty and knocked over. 

“—your te—where did she go?” 

“Get used to that,” Doug said. “Pietro doesn’t understand the concept of patience. Or time.” 

In the hallway leading to their bedrooms, Pietro skidded to a halt, and Lorna nearly tripped and fell through one of the doors. She managed to catch herself and rubbed her arm where Pietro had grabbed her. 

“What the hell was that?” she demanded. 

“You’re not asking me that question,” Pietro said, placing his hands on his hips. “I’m asking you that question.” 

“What!”

“Well, Lorna? What was that? What do you think you’re doing?” 

Lorna scoffed. “What do I think I’m doing? I’m making decisions because I’m the team leader. What do you think you’re doing?” 

“Expressing my displeasure at your decision,” Pietro said. “Why on Earth would you want Sunfire on the team?” 

“Why on Earth would I want you on the team?” Lorna shot back. “But here you are.” 

Pietro’s eyes narrowed. “That isn’t fair.” 

“Isn’t it?” Lorna jabbed a finger at him. “Sunfire’s motives might not be completely genuine but you were spying on me for Alex Summers, of all people.” 

“I said sorry,” Pietro said. “I said I was wrong. Isn’t that good enough for you?” 

“What will be good enough for me is when I know I can trust you,” Lorna snapped. “You just don’t like the idea of not being the team asshole.” 

“I never liked that idea,” Pietro said. “This is a terrible idea.” 

“You don’t get to make that judgement,” Lorna said. “What was it you said about me being a great leader? You need to respect my decisions.” 

“This decision is wrong,” Pietro said. 

“This is a petty grudge,” Lorna said. “And you’re being a hypocrite. You don’t trust him for the same reasons I shouldn’t have trusted you. Because you think he’s hiding something. Because you think he isn’t on this team because he only wants to help people. What is your problem?” 

Pietro sucked in a breath. “My problem,” he said, “is that I don’t think this is where I’m needed, after all.” Then he was gone. 

Lorna sagged against the wall, breathing hard. Then she straightened and headed back for the kitchen. 

*

“Luna, we’re leaving.” 

“Why? I like it here.” 

“I’m not…I’m doing more harm than good here.” 

Remy walked into Pietro’s room to see him tossing his few belongings, and Luna’s, into two bags. Luna sat on the bed watching him, her eyebrows scrunched up in confusion. When she saw Remy she almost looked relieved. 

Remy crossed the room quickly and grabbed Pietro’s arm. “What the hell d’you think you’re doing?” 

“What’s best for the team,” Pietro said, “and for Lorna, and for myself. Lorna doesn’t trust me. She’s still angry at me. So I’m leaving, because you can’t have a team where you don’t trust the motives of the other members.” 

“Uh, yes you can,” Remy said. “We did that for months. This team was kinda built on that.” 

“I’m her brother,” Pietro said, pulling away and tossing more clothes and books into the bags. “There’s a difference.” 

“Yeah, the difference is you have more leeway than anyone else,” Remy said. “A better chance at forgiveness and all that.” 

“Remy—“

“I need you,” Remy said. 

Pietro slung the bags over his shoulders and scooped up Luna, turning to face Remy briefly. 

“You won’t,” he said, and then he rushed past, leaving the room bare, like it had always been empty. 

Remy sank onto the bed, hoping that Pietro would come back through the door and say he was staying, or at least let Remy talk, or maybe explain a little more. But he didn’t. Remy just sat there for a long time. 

*

“Where’s Luna?” Georgia asked. “I was gonna teach her how to make sugar cookies.” 

“She’s gone,” Lorna said. She was distracted, clearly, going over Sunfire’s papers so that he could get paid and get a uniform. He was taking Pietro’s old room. 

Remy sat opposite of her, watching Georgia place ingredients on the counter. 

“Did Pietro leave the team?” Georgia asked. 

“Yup,” Lorna said. 

“Oh.” Georgia looked down. “I liked him. And Luna.” 

Remy clenched his jaw. If he said something, it probably wouldn’t be nice. Lorna didn’t comment, either. 

“I’m sorry,” Georgia added. 

“Not your fault,” Remy said. 

Lorna continued to fill in forms.


	5. Chapter 5

“Look what the cat dragged in,” Alex Summers said, leaning back in his chair and propping his legs up on the table. Pietro’s eye twitched, because Remy did that and made it look like he wasn’t being terribly rude and on Alex, it looked so wrong. And rude. It looked very rude. 

“I’ve reconsidered,” Pietro said. 

Alex raised an eyebrow. “What, Lorna doesn’t want her dishonest brother on her team?” 

“Not quite,” Pietro said stiffly. “I would like to join the Avengers.” 

“I never said the offer was still on the table,” Alex said. 

“I assumed it was,” Pietro said. “My sister is on—“

“Your sister hasn’t talked to you in a long time,” Alex said, “and she’s not too happy about what she’s heard. Every time someone mentions you she closes up. You’ve certainly burnt your bridge with me. I haven’t forgotten. Why should I let you on this team?” 

“As team leader, you should know those reasons already,” Pietro said. 

“I heard you’ve been dating Gambit. Is that why you wouldn’t leave X-Factor?” Alex smirked. “Did that relationship go sour?” 

“No,” Pietro said, clenching and unclenching his right hand behind his back. “My relationships are none of your business.” 

“I think they’re quite important,” Alex said. “It effects how you deal with certain encounters, and how team dynamics work.” 

“Is that why Vision is now on a team with my sister?” Pietro snapped. 

Alex looked a bit thrown, but he hid it. “I’ll have to discuss it,” he said after a moment. “There’s the matter of what everyone else feels, especially given your confession at the press conference, and your less-than-stellar reputation. I can’t give you an answer right now.” 

Pietro nodded. 

“I’ll let you know.” 

Pietro nodded again, muttered, “Thank you,” and was out the door before Alex could think about saying anything else. 

He hit the cold streets of Manhattan and found himself in Central Park, almost empty because it was early in the morning on a weekday. If Alex’s decision hinged on what Wanda said…

He hated to think it, but he didn’t think Wanda would want him on the team. If Lorna, who knew everything and had been on a team with him for the past few months couldn’t trust him still, Wanda definitely couldn’t. She probably hated him, despite insisting that she didn’t. 

No, he couldn’t think that. Not about Wanda. 

Alex being his team leader made his skin crawl. Alex would never stop reminding him of his mistakes. Alex would always believe that Pietro owed him something for letting him back on the Avengers, even after his reputation had taken a nosedive. All because of his past. The thing he could never seem to outrun. 

He would end up on his own, doing nothing. 

He almost couldn’t bear to face Luna and have her ask if he’d gotten back on the team. He couldn’t let his own daughter know how much of a failure he was. And she would, even if he didn’t say anything. 

That was the worst part. Everything in his life felt like it wasn’t in his control. And he knew it was entirely his fault. 

*

“I need ta go ta New York,” Remy said. 

Lorna looked up from where she was pouring over a file Snow had given her on a mission overseas that he wanted them to undertake for a friend. It involved retrieving his friend’s daughter’s body from a tomb guarded by angry locals and an even angrier goddess. 

“We’re busy,” she said. 

“You didn’t even ask why.” 

“I know why,” Lorna said. “Pietro made his decision.” 

“And it was wrong,” Remy said. “I’m sorry but Pietro ain’t the most sound decision maker in the world. He don’t take the time ta think. You know that.” 

“We have a mission,” Lorna said, gesturing to the file in front of her. 

“I’m sure you can deal without me,” Remy said. “Other people on the team are capable of shooting exploding things.” 

“Don’t talk like you’re replaceable,” Lorna snapped. 

“Aren’t we all,” Remy said. Lorna looked down at her papers. “Sorry. I’m in a bit of a mood.” 

“Aren’t we all,” Lorna muttered. “Come on the mission, and when we get back you can go find your wayward boyfriend.” 

“Don’t you want him back?” Remy asked. 

Lorna sighed. “Yes and no. He makes things difficult.” 

Remy smirked at her. “Don’t we all.” 

*

Pietro had just finished sending Wanda a text message saying, “we need to talk” when Luna walked into the kitchen and stood there, shuffling her feet. 

“Did you talk to the Avengers?” she asked. 

Pietro pocketed his phone and shook his head. “Just Alex Summers. They need to have a meeting about it.” 

“Do you think they’ll let you back?” 

“I’m not sure,” Pietro admitted. “It’s possible that after the press conference, I burned a lot of bridges over there.” His phone buzzed in his pocket. 

“But at X-Factor they didn’t kick you out for admitting what you did,” Luna pointed out. 

“Yeah,” Pietro said. “I’m as shocked as you are.” 

“I’m not shocked,” Luna said, taking a seat at the counter. “They like you.” 

Pietro grimaced. “Are you hungry? I can make lunch?” 

“Okay,” Luna said. She looked concerned. 

Pietro turned away. He hated that he made Luna feel this way. As he started cooking, his phone buzzed again, and he checked the newest message. 

It was from Wanda, and it said, “Meet me at 6, southeast corner of Central Park.” 

*

The mission went as well as it could have gone, considering that Sunfire wasn’t really familiar with the team dynamics and there were at least two times where he didn’t listen to Lorna. She had to give him a stern talking to when they got back to Serval, which was stressful enough that it made her want to go have a drink and then go to bed. 

But instead, Snow wanted to see her. 

“I’ve taken care of the scientist you captured in the raid of the mutant testing facility,” he told her. 

Lorna frowned. “What do you mean by that?” 

“I sent him off to work at a facility in the middle of nowhere in Sweden,” Snow told her. “He shouldn’t be a bother.” 

It took Lorna a moment to put her words together. “You let him go?” 

“Of course,” Snow said. “The mission was to investigate who destroyed the lab. He wasn’t responsible.” 

“He was running a mutant testing facility,” Lorna said. She’d half-risen out of her seat. “You didn’t ask him why?” 

“It wasn’t relevant,” Snow said. “Lorna, as your employer, you do trust me, yes?” 

Lorna sighed. “I do, but—“ 

“Then you should trust that this scientist is not a danger to you or any other mutant,” Snow said. “And that lab has been shut down.” 

“Was it the only one?” 

“Lorna…” 

Lorna sat down. “Sorry. It’s hard. We’re never safe from that sort of thing.” 

Snow stood up and squeezed Lorna’s shoulder as he walked past her. “It’s been taken care of. No need to worry.” 

The door closed behind him and Lorna slumped in her chair. She noticed that Snow had left his files on this particular mission on the table. Someone would probably be by to collect them later, but Lorna grabbed them. She’d have a look before they did. 

*

Pietro found Wanda sitting on one of the many benches that lined the walkway leading deeper into the park. She was a wearing a lovely red coat, and alone, she looked so serene. He almost felt guilty interrupting her. 

But he sat down next to her anyway. She turned to him, smiled, and gave him a brief hug that he wanted to last longer. And then her expression became serious. 

“I want to join the Avengers again,” Pietro said. 

“Oh, Pietro.” Wanda sighed. “I know. We had a meeting about it today.” 

Pietro intertwined his fingers to keep them from tapping on the bench. “How did it go?” 

Wanda looked down. 

“That well,” Pietro said. 

“Most of them don’t feel like they can trust you,” Wanda said. “After the lies you told them for years. And the things you lied about. They want you to prove to them that you can be trusted.” 

“But not on the Avengers,” Pietro said. 

Wanda nodded. She looked at him and said, “I find it hard to disagree with them.” 

“I thought—“

“I know,” Wanda said, “but I also need time on my own. I need time on my own. And if you joined the Avengers, I wouldn’t have that. And I’m still coming to terms with everything.” 

“Right.” Pietro looked down at his hands, resting in his lap. “I have two sisters who can’t trust me.” 

“Because you did things that broke that trust,” Wanda said. She leaned forward and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Pietro, I believe that you can put your life back together. I just can’t help you when I’m trying to do the same. We’re different. We have to take different paths to recover.” 

“I know,” Pietro said. “I might have ruined mine.” 

Wanda gave his shoulder a squeeze. “I don’t think you have. Are you going to be okay?” 

“Yeah.” Pietro exhaled, and he could see his breath frost in the cold air.

“Perhaps you made too rash a decision in leaving X-Factor,” Wanda suggested. 

Pietro frowned at her. She just shrugged, and stood. “You can talk to me, you know,” she said. 

“I know,” Pietro told her, even though he hadn’t up until she’d confirmed it for him. 

Wanda smiled, pressed a kiss to his forehead, and then walked away. 

*

“I’m leaving,” Remy said, pulling on his coat and walking into the kitchen, where the rest of the team was having dinner. “If anyone cares.” 

“For good?” Danger asked. 

“Nah, just ta get Pietro back,” Remy said. 

“Pity,” Danger muttered. 

“Hey!” Remy glared at her. “Well, I’ll not be long.” He turned around and ran into someone. 

Which didn’t make sense because the whole team was in the kitchen. Unless they were getting a message from Snow or—

The other person kissed him. Snow wouldn’t do that. 

Remy stepped back and it registered in his mind that the person in front of him was Pietro, and at his side, grinning, was Luna, and Pietro had a bag and was standing there, windswept and red-cheeked. 

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I was—“ 

“Wrong,” Remy finished for him, and then he pulled Pietro close and kissed him deep, and ignored the noises of protest from the rest of the team. 

Because he would have gone all the way to New York to get Pietro, because their relationship was at the point now where he didn’t want to be without him. But he hadn’t expected Pietro to feel the same, given the way he sped through life, rarely standing still or staying in one place. 

He hadn’t expected Pietro to come back. But he had. 

And that made Remy think, we have something big here and we both know it.


End file.
